


As Simple An Act

by carolinecrane



Series: Bellsverse [2]
Category: Dead Man on Campus (1998)
Genre: Curtain Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-07
Updated: 2010-10-07
Packaged: 2017-10-12 12:24:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/124785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Domestic tranquility. Two guys, a couple kids, your basic curtain fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As Simple An Act

It was dark when the cab finally dropped Josh off in front of the house, and he swallowed a sigh as he glanced at his watch and realized how late it really was. He told himself he wasn't disappointed that he was too late to see the kids before bedtime; tomorrow was Sunday, at least, and that meant a whole day together before work and school started all over again. He let himself into the house, setting his suitcase down just inside the door and glancing toward the living room.

He didn't hold back the weary sigh this time. The living room looked like it had been hit by a hurricane – there were toys littered all over the floor, the TV was on and playing the static end of a videotape, and most of the couch cushions were missing.

"Damn it, Cooper," he muttered as he made his way over to the TV, picking up the toys directly in his path as he went. He shut off the tape and then the TV before he turned back toward the stairs, his limbs heavy as he climbed to the second floor. When he reached the landing he turned right, pausing just inside the first doorway and smiling at the sleeping form in the small bed on the opposite side of the room. He set the toys he'd picked up in the toy chest near the door before he crossed to the bed, shaking his head when he saw the mismatched pajamas his son was wearing.

It wasn't surprising; Cooper had never been much for details, and for all Josh knew he thought letting their three-year-old dress himself was a good way to teach him to be self-sufficient. Josh was used to coming home from conferences to find all kinds of strange Cooper-instituted family policies, and unless they were really impractical – or downright dangerous – he didn't bother trying to fight them. It was almost always three against one, after all, and he hated always having to be the heavy.

Finally he smiled and ran a hand through his son's hair, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead before he straightened up and headed back to the hallway in search of the rest of his family. He checked in their older son's bedroom first, but the room was empty and the bed, while unmade, looked like it hadn't been slept in recently. Josh sighed and headed for the master bedroom, resigning himself to spending his first night home sharing the bed with a seven-year-old. Not exactly his ideal homecoming, but it was better than the time he'd come home to find all three of them asleep in his bed and ended up spending the night on the couch.

He laughed softly at the memory of Cooper finding him the next morning and yelling at him for not waking him up to let him know he was home and safe. Listening to Cooper lecture him about responsibility was usually more annoying than amusing, especially when Josh knew the only reason he was mad was because it meant he'd gone without sex longer than he had to. They'd made up for it the next night, though, and he knew they'd make up for tonight as soon as they got the chance.

When he reached the master bedroom he loosened his tie, sliding it off his neck as he walked into the room expecting to find two bodies asleep in his bed. Only the bed was empty, and Josh swallowed a little rush of panic as he dropped his tie on the dresser and glanced into the bathroom. No sign of life there either, and his pulse started to race a little as he headed back downstairs and through the wreck of a living room to the kitchen.

There were dishes in the sink and the table was a sea of newspapers and schoolwork, but Josh barely registered the mess this time. All he noticed was the decided lack of family members. He knew Cooper wasn't irresponsible enough to leave one of their kids alone in the house and take off with the other one, but he'd checked almost every room in the house and there were already a thousand different scenarios running through his mind.

He crossed the kitchen to the garage door, but when he pulled it open both cars were parked right where they belonged. He shut the door again with an audible sigh, reaching up to run his hands through his hair as he crossed the few feet between the garage and the swinging door that led from the kitchen to the dining room. As soon as he opened the door his heart skipped a beat and all the adrenaline rushed right out of him, leaving him breathless and feeling vaguely deflated.

The chairs had all been pulled back from the table, and the missing couch cushions were propped against the legs to form a sort of fort. The comforter from the guestroom was draped over the top of the table, hanging down on either side to almost conceal the two bodies under the table. Josh shook his head and dropped to his knees next to the table, easing one of the couch cushions out of the way and lifting the blanket just enough for the light to illuminate Cooper's face.

He had to resist the urge to hit the other man with one of the cushions when he saw Cooper's chest rising and falling steadily; he felt a little stupid now about assuming the worst, but he saw so much misery working at the hospital that he couldn't help letting it encroach on his home life every once in awhile. Spending the past four days at a conference listening to psychologists from around the world talk about the decline of the family unit had made him more anxious than usual to get back to his own family, and he'd spent most of the flight back trying not to imagine all the things that could have gone wrong while he was away.

He took a second to get his initial panicked reaction under control before he reached out and rested his hand on Cooper's chest, soothing his fingers along the well-worn cotton of his husband's old Daleman t-shirt. For a few seconds he just watched the steady rise and fall of Cooper's chest under his hand, the sound of their collective breathing the only thing breaking the silence in the room. When a hand closed over his he started and looked up, frowning when he found Cooper smiling up at him.

"Hey."

"Hey," Josh echoed, letting Cooper thread their fingers together. "I see you've been doing a little redecorating."

Cooper's sleepy smile shifted into a grin, and he let go of Josh's hand long enough to push himself into a sitting position. He winced as he straightened up and braced one hand against his lower back. "Damn, that floor is hard."

"You know, we have a pretty comfortable bed right upstairs," Josh pointed out as he stood up and pulled Cooper to his feet.

Warm arms slid around his waist and Cooper pulled him close, tilting his head for a kiss before he pulled away far enough to look at Josh again. "And I've got plans for you and that bed."

Josh laughed and glanced around at the mess in the dining room, but Cooper must have read his mind because he shook his head and reached up with one hand to turn Josh's face toward his. "We'll put it all away in the morning, I promise."

"That's what you always say, and I always end up doing it."

"That's because you're way too anal, Josh. You always have been." Cooper laughed and pressed another kiss to the corner of his mouth before he let go of Josh and glanced down at the seven-year-old still snoring softly under the dining room table. "Does it make us bad parents if we just leave him there?"

"I don't know if it makes us bad parents, but if we leave him there he's going to wake up in a few hours and head straight for our room." Josh grinned at the expression on Cooper's face and headed for the other side of the table. "I'll get him. Meet you upstairs."

Cooper nodded and turned away, leaving Josh alone to tear down the couch cushion fort on the other side of the table. He reached out and gently shook their son's shoulder, smiling when two sleepy brown eyes squinted up at him. "Hey, buddy," he said, "time for bed."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, kiddo. I'm home," he answered, reaching out and letting little arms wrap around his neck as he levered them both off the floor. He managed to swallow a groan as he shifted the dead weight of a half-asleep seven-year-old onto his chest, sending up a quick prayer that they wouldn't both end up falling down the stairs and breaking their necks.

Finally he managed to get them safely up the stairs, and by the time he got his son tucked into bed he was already fast asleep again. Josh turned the light off and shut the door most of the way before he headed for the master bedroom for the second time, letting out a yawn as he reached the door and discovered his suitcase sitting just inside.

"Thanks," he said when he glanced up to find Cooper watching him.

"I think I got the better end of the deal," Cooper answered as he reached up to tug his t-shirt over his head. "He's getting too big for you to carry him around like that."

"Tell me about it."

He crossed the room and kicked off his shoes before he climbed onto the bed, sighing contentedly when Cooper braced his knees on either side of Josh and settled on top of him. He reached up and ran one hand through Cooper's hair, tugging him forward for a long, slow kiss. He let Cooper work open the buttons on his shirt, sighing against the other man's mouth when he felt warm hands slide down his bare chest.

"How was Tampa?" Cooper murmured against his mouth.

"The usual," Josh answered when Cooper's mouth left his to trail down his neck. "Too hot, too many drunk psychologists gossiping about their patients."

Cooper laughed against the hollow of his throat, the vibrations on his skin sending a shiver down his spine. "I'm glad you're home. We missed you."

He started to tell Cooper that he missed them too, but the words were swallowed when Cooper fused their mouths together again. It didn't matter, though, because there would be plenty of time for talking tomorrow. Besides, Cooper already knew.


End file.
